Did Trent Richardson trash the Colts offensive line?
December 4, 2014Yan Gomes, Michael Brantley and Corey Kluber among Grantland’s most valuable
December 4, 2014Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year is an annual must-read. Sadly, that the national recognition rarely has anything to do with the teams or individuals whom we cover. In turn, WFNY will soon announce its choice for 2014’s Cleveland Sportsman of the Year. Here’s one of the nominations for that honor by an WFNY writer.
This is a bad time to present a spirited argument for Brian Hoyer as WFNY’s Cleveland Sportsman of the Year for 2014. The Cleveland Browns coaching staff benched Brian Hoyer in the fourth quarter of a dismal performance last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, in which Hoyer completed 18 of 30 passes for 192 yards and two interceptions, earning a QBR of 24.9. Then, even after backup quarterback/future savior of Cleveland Johnny Manziel led the Browns on a touchdown drive (the Browns’ first of the afternoon), Mike Pettine announced on Wednesday that Brian Hoyer will remain the starter for this Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, a wildly schismatic move among Browns faithful.
In the last three games, Hoyer has thrown one touchdown versus six interceptions, his shoddiness mitigated only by a game-winning field goal drive two weeks ago against the Atlanta Falcons. In fact, it would be fair to say, relying exclusively on the eye test that—save for a sharp performance versus the Cincinnati Bengals in week ten—Hoyer has played appallingly bad in seven straight games. So, for me to argue on Brian Hoyer’s behalf right now is like trying to convince you that Steven Spielberg is the best director of all time after you’ve just watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I’m making a case for Brian Hoyer as the Cleveland Sportsman of the Year despite mounting evidence that Brian Hoyer is actually not a good professional quarterback. But hear me out.
|
All Browns fans have seen the list before; way too many times, in fact. But it must be viewed again to appreciate what Brian Hoyer has done for the Cleveland Browns. Here it is: Tim Couch, Ty Detmer, Doug Pederson, Spergon Wynn, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, Bruce Gradkowski, Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Brandon Weeden, Thad Lewis, and Jason Campbell. That collection of unremarkable names is the list of quarterbacks, minus Hoyer, to start games for the Cleveland Browns since their return in 1999. None of those quarterbacks had a record better than .500. It’s a morbidly depressing list that drives a Browns fan to take swigs of Maalox straight from the bottle.
For years, Browns fans have been hopelessly desperate for a quarterback to lead the team like a competent professional, to no avail. Without one, dreams of the playoffs and an eventual Super Bowl will remain forever unfulfilled. For part of 2013 and the start of 2014, the knight in shining armor to Browns fans’ damsel in distress was Brian Hoyer, if only temporarily so.
Brian Hoyer was born in Lakewood, Ohio, in 1985, mere minutes from the old Municipal Stadium. He attended St. Ignatius High School, one of Ohio’s preeminent prep athletic institutions. He then played for Michigan State before being drafted by the New England Patriots to back up Tom Brady, a stint which was followed by several years as an NFL journeyman quarterback before landing with his hometown Browns in 2013. The 2013 Browns went 3-0 in games that Hoyer started before a torn ACL sidelined him for the rest of the year, along with any pipe dreams of mediocrity for the Browns.
After Sunday’s loss, the Browns are an uncharacteristic 7-5. It’s uncharacteristic in that their record begins with a number greater than five. Barring a catastrophic finish,1 the Browns will finish with their first non-losing season since 2007, and they have a possibility of making the playoffs for the first time since 2002. After a hot start, Hoyer “The Destroyer” finally received the attention and fanfare not meant for 29 year-old career backups. People wrote stupid songs about Hoyer and posted them to Youtube, he received an endorsement deal with one of Northeast Ohio’s most prestigious sandwich mini-chains, and hip local shops gave Hoyer his own premium t-shirts.
It’s hard to evaluate exactly how much of the Browns’ success is attributable solely to Brian Hoyer. His numbers don’t exactly make Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning blush with envy. Hoyer is averaging 254.67 yards per game, with only 11 touchdowns through 12 games compared to 10 interceptions. Hoyer’s 56.2 completion percentage is one of the lowest marks in the league among starters. In the pass-happy NFL, Hoyer’s numbers resemble those of an average Big Ten starting quarterback more than an All-Pro NFL starter.
But the Browns have never asked Brian Hoyer to outpace and outmaneuver Ferraris and Lamborghinis, just not to drive the car off a freaking mountain. He’s merely needed to steady the wheel and provide a ceaseless air of competence, distribute the ball to playmakers, and allow the running game to move the chains while the defense kept the Browns in games. To his credit, he has done this, even elevating his game when the Browns needed it most. Hoyer’s four game-winning drives are tied with Tony Romo for the most in the NFL this season. Hoyer’s 10-6 record entering last weekend gives him the NINTH best win percentage among active quarterbacks with five or more starts. Though he’s struggled mightily of late, Brian Hoyer has still been much better than what the Browns have come accustomed to . . . however sad that may be.
Despite what the coaching staff will say, or what Hoyer may convince himself, it appears that Hoyer may have handed the reins of the team over to Johnny Manziel, ushering in a new era of Cleveland Browns football. The way Hoyer has played recently, it appears his time as the starter has an expiration date. But Johnny Manziel isn’t a real person. Manziel is a phenom, a walking internet meme, a celebrity. Brian Hoyer is a man, a mortal, a hometown Cleveland boy who led the Browns to a 7-5 record despite his glaring deficiencies. He gutted it out like a true Northeast Ohioan. Johnny Manziel is Hollywood. Brian Hoyer is Cleveland.
Brian Hoyer will never hoist a Super Bowl trophy or an MVP, and his time leading the Browns may have already elapsed. But after the way he rejuvenated the Browns franchise after 15 seasons of mostly uninterrupted misery, he deserves to be the WFNY Sportsman of the Year. Let’s give him that much.
- Don’t rule this out. [↩]
14 Comments
So this is just click bait, right? One of you guys had to pick Hoyer in AND literally start a sentence with “born in Lakewood, OH in 1985.” If you absolutely had to represent the Browns then why not just go with Haden who keeps proving himself week in and week out? You want to give a reason the Browns are 7-5, look at him.
What he said.
And, do you guys just all pick somebody different for the sake of picking somebody different?
QBs don’t have records any more than LGs or DTs do. Having said that, I love what Hoyer has done in his time here, at least demonstrating that he’s marginally better than those other dudes (not named Couch). I continue to be “unsold” on his supposed selflessness and teamplayericity (new word! change approved!), which is what I think we think “guts” is. Indeed, physically being from Cleveland is likely the only thing that keeps all of our pitchforks in the shed, and I think this is okay, if not right – we care for our own. He might be “Cleveland,” but this doesn’t necessarily make these characteristics true of him. I’m rooting for him on Sunday, though, and hope he helps to elevate the record of those CBs to 8-5.
I meant to pose this question in the WWW but forgot, and maybe still will tomorrow for lack of better options, but I’ll pose it here now as well:
If Hoyer plays a near-flawless game, say 250-300 yards, 2 TDs, 0 Ints, keeps it close the whole game, maybe even has a lead in the 4th, but we still lose in the end…what then? Does that earn him one more start, or is a loss the final nail?
My general position is that there’s no reason to start Hoyer the rest of the year if they lose on Sunday, but that’s not so much about Hoyer as it is about Manziel and the playoffs. Now If Hoyer really plays that well (but it has to be more than just stats, as his stats were probably pretty good in the first Pittsburgh game even though he really wasn’t), and it’s the defense that loses the game, then the easy answer is that he starts next week. And that may be the right answer.
I’d say it depends a lot on what happens in the rest of the division/conference. If some combination of losses keeps the playoff picture the same for the Browns as it is today, then I guess next week’s game is the same analysis as this week’s: Hoyer should start, I guess. If, as is much more likely, the Browns’ playoff hopes are done or hanging by a thread, then they have to play Manziel – for the playoff “spark,” for quarterback evaluation, and for next year.
In reality, if the Browns lose on Sunday it’s at least in part because Hoyer had another bad day. If so, then I’m ready for some Football.
Well said. I think I agree completely.
I just want the best QB starting for our team. If that’s Hoyer, then it hopefully won’t be the version we have seen lately. I don’t care about whether or not we think we’re making the playoffs or anything else. I just want to enjoy my Sunday (or 5am Monday mornings…whichever).
And if you’re not sure who the best QB is?
Well said sir.
well, we know what the current QB has been doing for the past 40 possessions he was behind the center (1 touchdown).
So you don’t want “the best QB,” you want Football! So to answer JNeids’s question, you would say: “Football should start. Coffin nailed.” (For what it’s worth, this is generally where I come out, too.)
https://img.pandawhale.com/post-37338-thank-you-very-much-rock-n-rol-0Zor.gif
I do want the best QB. And, Pettine has told us that he believes that player is Hoyer. I will trust him and cheer for Brian.
However, if we are starting to talk about hypotheticals and reasoning, then I am fulling willing to divulge my thoughts (surprise!).
I don’t care about preparing for the future (one of the arguments for Football) nor do I think that starting a rookie means you are throwing in the towel (one of the arguments against Football).
I want to win the game this week. I know what one of the QBs has done lately and has done in a longer stretch. I have only seen a glimpse of the other one. So, if I am a coach and unsure of which QB is better from practice & game film, then I’m staying away from the one who has been a known terrible player lately. An unknown > known terrible.
By this logic, I am assuming that Pettine believes Hoyer to be the superior QB at this point.
“But after the way he rejuvenated the Browns franchise after 15 seasons of mostly uninterrupted misery, he deserves to be the WFNY Sportsman of the Year. Let’s give him that much.”
After many failed quartbacks year after year after year…. I don’t know why everybody’s throwing in the towel already. Give the guy a full season.